Myth #1) Global Warming is not real.
That's right, too many people believe that Global Warming isn't real and now there will likely be more of them thanks to a book famous writer Michael Crichton has authored--a book called State of Fear. From a title like that you'd think the book would be about the War Against Terror (TWAT) which is certainly a myth (more on that in a bit). Instead, it's about how we're not really messing with our environment by spewing mass amounts of pollutants into the air. Actually, I haven't read the book, so I can't say what it's about--but I do know that [http://www.nytimes.com/2006/02/19/national/19warming.html?ei=5090&en=a7ab8a29e56cf4df&ex=1298005200&partner=rssuserland&emc=rss&pagewanted=print|a February 19, 2006 article] at -NYT- is reporting Crichton has met with W. Bush over the Global Warming "controversy" which makes me think the whole damn book is all about how GW is full of crap.
What really bugs me about trying to debunk a theory is that it's a THEORY--you can't debunk it--all you can do is provide evidence against it. The catch is that there is also evidence for it. If it could be proved or disproved it wouldn't be a theory any more. So ultimately, we need to ask ourselves how does playing into Global Warming fears harm us? I don't think it does. But once you realize who it does hurt, then you start to understand how we're being manipulated. (Here's a hint: Who makes money off of oil continuing to be consumed?)
Myth #2) Al Qeada is actually a threat to us.
One of my all-time-favorite writers is Frank Miller. I haven't liked everything his written, but I have liked most of his work. He's always had a keen understanding of the darkness of the world around him. Dark Knight Returns is one of the most brilliant works of fiction I've ever read so it pains me to hear that he is [http://www.cinematical.com/2006/02/17/batman-vs-the-terrorists/|venturing back into the world of Batman to write the graphic novel Holy Terror, Batman]. Miller feels it's silly to have Batman going after costumed badguys like the Joker and Riddler when Osama is still out there.
I pray that Miller knows what he is doing. From the sound of it, he doesn't. He admits HT, B will be a propaganda piece, reminiscent of previous pro-American works of superhero fiction featuring Superman or Captain America going after Hitler or Stalin. That's great, but Hitler and Stalin were responsible for the deaths of millions. Bin Laden can claim no such numbers. He can barely claim thousands.
It's dangerous when intelligent people get taken in by popular myths like the idea that Global Warming is fake or that Al Qeada is a real threat to us. They tend to glamorize these imagined realities and make them more real to people who already believe in them. Worse, they can also sway people who are on the fence.
I don't like Michael Chrichton's work--I think he specializes in ripping off old Twilight Zone-esque stories and turning them into extremely commercial novels (Sphere/Forbidden Planet or his Lost World/ Conan Doyle's Lost World). It's the "commercial" part that bothers me here--he could create a new wave of ignorance that would parallel the resurgence of the KKK back when [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Birth_of_a_Nation|Birth of a Nation] was first released. The same might go for Miller's work when it is released.
I'm seriously hoping that Miller ends HT, B with Batman finding a joke of a man--Osama, holed up in a cave, a threat to no one, he then proceeds to leave him alive, knowing that bin Laden is no threat. He could then point out to Robin that the threat comes from how we react to bin Laden and people like him. Batman and Miller are smart enough to know that a man in a cave can't bring down nations. At least, not unless they're reeeeally weak nations.
I know there's no hope for Crichton but Miller isn't finished with Holy Terror, Batman yet. Hopefully, he won't give us a happy ending--but an ending we can be happy with--an ending that puts light onto one of the biggest myths of the last 100 years--that terrorism is a threat.
Yes, terrorists kill--but cars kill way more...cars--you've got a leading killer of man right in your driveway!
Oh yeah, and in case you forgot, [http://thepete.com/two-more-ways-the-us-government-is-screwing-us/|the polar ice caps are melting at twice the rate they were just five years ago]. Is it Global Warming? Again, getting off the oil can't hurt anyone but the oil companies.
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